The Flowerless Orchid
by Wondah Woman
Summary: Masami is regarded as an elite Ninja and joins the ANBU Black Ops unit. Squad D is regarded as the best of the best in ANBU. Can Masami live up to The Hokage's expectations? Can she prove herself to Squad D? -Rated T for Light Violence and Some Romance-
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The shapely brunette stood perfectly still, wearing a placid expression as she stared ahead at the closed door. She was waiting in the hallway for a prompt to enter the Hokage's office.  
She felt unease roil up from her stomach as she wondered why she had been asked to meet with him. Drawing a deep breath and releasing it slowly, she glanced over to her right side; moving only her green eyes to look out the window. It was a beautiful fall day with just enough sunshine to warm the stiff breeze. She breathed deeply to soothe her nerves. A cluster of colorful leaves whisked past the window in the wind.  
After regaining a sense of calm, she shifted her gaze to the fore. No sooner did the door slide open and a Jounin uniformed man poked his head out.

"Uh..." He glanced at a clipboard and looked up at her again. "Katsurō Masami?"

She nodded.

"Hokage-Sama will see you now." He stepped back and allowed her to enter before shutting the door behind her.

Masami walked in and stood before the Hokage's desk. She bowed respectfully then gazed at him.

Smoke billowed from the pipe that rested on the old mans' lip. He sat with his hands folded on his lap; his old watery eyes surveyed an array of papers that were arranged on his desk.

"Masami." He looked up at the woman with a very slight smile, putting her at ease. "Your name has been mentioned quite frequently among the higher ranked shinobi of our village. I looked into your reports and documents because of this."

He paused to let the words sink in, forcing Masami to wonder what his thoughts were. "I am impressed by what I saw. I do remember watching you grow from a young Kunoichi to a Jounin level nin. I assumed you had potential but I did not expect this much progress. Observing first-hand your last mission, I now look at you in a new light. And these records..."

The aged man snorted and glanced down at one of the papers. He then looked at her with a pleasant smile. "Masami I think it's time you've put your great skill to it's full use. I need more strong Shinobi like you in the higher ranks." He chuckled. "I'm almost insulted you hadn't requested a position in the ANBU black Ops unit."

Masami held back the gasp she almost instinctively made, but she couldn't keep the excitement from being portrayed in her eyes. Her mouth formed a small "o" making her appear innocent and a bit dazed.

The old Hokage took the pipe from his mouth and smiled cheerfully. "Is there a reason you haven't requested that position?"

She glanced quickly from side to side. "I mean... being in those ranks is no doubt something I'd always wanted. I had never considered it as something I would personally attain, though. I suppose deep down I never felt I would ever be good enough."

The Hokage admired her mellow and honest attitude. But he felt she needed to develop more ambition. "Well I am telling you that you're good enough, and acceptable to me for this career. Although, it is still your decision."

Masami's heart raced, she was so pleased. _ANBU? The Hokage is asking me to work as an ANBU for the village? I feel honored.  
_

She leaned forward a bit. "Well if you think I am good enough then I will. I want to help you and protect the village in any way I can, to the best of my ability. Yes, I accept the position."

He stared at the smoke rising from the pipe in his hand. _The will of fire... That will certainly move her to improvement._

"Alright, Masami. We will have to fill out some paperwork right now and register you as an ANBU agent. And then I will introduce you to the members of the squad I have assigned you to." He gestured for her to come to his desk and pulled out a small group of forms and documents.

Masami couldn't help but smile as she signed the last form. _I would have never expected to reach a goal like this. It seemed __so far above me before. Now I am beginning to believe that I really can make a big difference. I'm not just a talented kunoichi anymore, I am an extremely skilled shinobi hand selected by Lord Hokage to serve him directly. I'm going to do my best to fill that_ _role._

The wise Hokage could almost see her very thoughts through her vibrant green eyes. "Good, Masami." He gestured to his personal assistant at the back of the room.

Masami heard the door slide open followed by the sound of footsteps. She judged by the sound that it was three average sized men.

"This is the squad _D_, which I have personally assigned you to. I assessed your abilities and found they would balance out nicely with these three. Although ANBU work alone typically I do have all ANBU members assigned to specialized squads. You will work with them on missions that require a full team, and you will also train and practice with them."

He smiled. "I would like to socialize with you but I have quite a bit to do. Your team mates will direct you on what to do next, since they have all been appointed already as ANBU. Good luck Masami."

Masami stood up and bowed. "Arigatou Hokage-Sama." She turned around and faced her new squad mates. She immediately took in what she saw:

The shortest one was a man with light blond hair worn in a ponytail, tied at the base of his skull. He wore a grungy brown bandanna and had a small goatee at the tip of his chin. He was just a but stocky, and very muscular.

Next to him stood a man with dark eyes and gray hair. But he definitely wasn't old. His face was covered with tight dark blue cloth and a hidden leaf village headband was worn crooked on his face, concealing his left eye. He was the tallest of the three, and presumably the oldest.

The third member was a brown haired man with dark almond-shaped eyes. He wore a metal guard around his face with the leaf village symbol on it. His face looked odd, almost scary but his physique and size were average. He seemed to be the youngest of the three.

Masami walked up to them and bowed briefly. "I am Katsurō Masami."

The Grey haired man spoke up, "Kakashi, Senior member of squad _D_."

The blond gave her a nod, "The name's Eiichi"

The brown haired one smiled politely, "I'm Tenzō"

The four shinobi exited the office and proceeded down the halls.

"I read over your records, Masami. It seems you are skilled. I look forward to seeing you at work." Kakashi spoke nonchalantly as he looked ahead.

The woman nodded. "I assume you are Hatake Kakashi, son of Konoha's white fang. You must be quite reputable yourself."

Tenzō chimed in, "That's true. But you haven't worked with a skilled ninja until you work with Kakashi Sempai. He's very competent!"

Masami smiled at Tenzō.

"I'm hungry." Eiichi said with his gruff voice.

Kakashi nodded. "Alright we'll go eat and discuss what we need to do to include Masami as an official member."

* * *

Three young men and one young woman kneeled around a table. Each of them enjoying their meal thoroughly. The paper lanterns hanging above them made for a friendly and cheerful setting in the dim restaurant.

Masami smiled after swallowing a mouthful of food. "Well tell me about yourselves. How long have you been working together?" Her green eyes glowed with excitement as she spoke.

"Eiichi and I have been working under Kakashi-sempai for eight months now. We were both new agents when we were installed in his squad." Tenzō lowered his eyes as delivered a piece of pork to his mouth and began chewing it.

Kakashi leaned back on one of his hands. "Our fourth member, Haruki was KIA just shortly before Hokage-sama assigned you to our squad."

Masami felt a sudden sense of gloom settle over everyone at the table. "I'm sorry to hear that." She looked down for a moment.

Eiichi, who was just about to take a bite of shrimp, paused and scowled. "Haruki was the best teammate we could ever ask for." He glared to his side with an expression of disgust. "I can't believe Lord Hokage replaced him with a woman."

Tenzō choked on a dumpling and gaped at his blond teammate in disbelief.

"Eiichi tends to be blunt with his words. I'm sure he didn't mean to insult you, Masami." Kakashi said casually and sighed.

Masami shifted uncomfortably. "It's alright. I know that it is hard to lose someone."

Eiichi remained silent and chomped down on his shrimp.

The woman stared blankly at the small pile of seasoned rice in her bowl for a moment before looking up with a more positive demeanor. "Kakashi-sama how long have you been a Black Op?"

"Three years."

Masami nodded enthusiastically. _He must be powerful then, that goes without saying._

She looked over at her brown haired teammate. "Tenzō-san, what are your skills?"

Tenzou, shocked to receive attention from someone, looked at her sheepishly and gulped down a mouthful of food. "Me? Um, well I... I primarily use wood release jutsu's. Other than that I'm really nothing special."

She let out a small gasp and clasped her hands together in excitement. "Oh! I didn't know there were shinobi able to use that technique, I mean since the First. How intriguing!"

"Well, it's a blessing and a curse." The man cheeks turned to a rosy blush and scratched the back of his head bashfully.

The brunette turned to the other squad member. "How about you Eiichi-san?"

"Earth style and strong taijutsu. Use a lot of power but I lack a little in speed." He wiped his mouth with his wrist and leaned back to relax after his good meal.

"I thought up some new ideas for our squad. Because of his powerful but slow attacks, Eiichi-kun and I are going work as partners. I may not be as powerful as he is, but my attacks are quick. So putting to two of us together makes for a well-rounded assault on the enemy."  
Kakashi was very calm and stoic as he spoke.  
"I think Masami-kun and Tenzō-kun will balance each other out as well. But with the two of you, it has more to do with range. Tenzō has very stable long-range attacks, while Masami uses fierce close-range techniques. I have high expectations for our squad. I think we will be able to work very well together."  
He paused and looked over at the female. _She just seems too delicate and feminine to be a strong Shinobi. But she must be good, to have been placed in our squad. _ "Hopefully you are as good as Lord Hokage said you were, Masami."

She gulped. _I hope so too._

Kakashi stood up and stretched. "Well I have a few things I need to do, so I can't stay around. I trust the two of you will help Masami-kun out a bit tonight since I am a very busy man. Remember we meet by the Hokage monument tomorrow morning for some training runs. Thanks for the dinner." The grey-headed man waved, turned on his heel, and left.

Masami smiled and waved to him. "Goodbye Kakashi-sama!"

Eiichi nodded to confirm all that Kakashi said.

Tenzō slumped as a bill was set on the table by the hostess. "Who is paying for this..?"

The blond shook his head. "Not me. You know I did the last two times we all ate together."

"Then... Kakashi-senpaiii!" Tenzō slapped his face and began to reach in his back pocket with a scowl. "Sneaky little..."

Masami reached over and grabbed his wrist. "Why don't you let me take care of it. It's the least I can do, since you have made me feel welcome as part of the team." She released her grip from him and smiled warmly.

Tenzou waved his palms back and fourth. "No, no, no. That's not necessary Masami-san. I would feel bad." The man cordially smiled and continued pulling out his wallet.

"I will, I want to." She picked up the bill and began sorting out the money from her wallet.

The two men watched her quietly as she did this.

A haughty chuckle came form the other side of the table. "Nice one, Tenzō." Eiichi glared smugly at him.

He directed his gaze from the woman to Eiichi. "What do you mean?"

"You had the woman pay. You're not much of a gentleman, are you?" He stood up and crossed his arms.

Tenzou cringed. "Well... it's not like I had a choice. I mean, she insisted and everything..." He stood up as well, feeling quite embarrassed.

Masami giggled and raised to her feet. "Don't feel bad, Tenzō-san. I wasn't offended in the least." She smiled pleasantly at him.

"Let's get going, guys. I don't want this to take up what's left of my day." Eiichi began walking toward the exit.

The other two ninja followed. Masami silently wondered what it was that they were to do next.

* * *

Masami watched the tattoo needle draw in closer to her right arm as Eiichi stared intently from the side, Tenzō fidgeting as he watched as well. The needle made contact with her skin and the tattoo artist bit his lip while he worked. She patiently looked around as he worked. Her only struggle was to try and not choke and gag from the cigarette smoke that immersed the room.

Time passed and it was finished. Masami looked at her arm and smiled. She felt like an official ANBU agent now.

Eiichi glared over at Tenzō and cracked a smile. He looked even more harsh through the cloud of smoke.

"What is it, Eiichi?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember, Tenzō."

"Remember what?" Tenzō raised an eyebrow at him.

Masami tilted her head as she listened to the conversation.

"The way you whimpered like a baby when you got yours because of your fear of needles." Eiichi gave him an evil grin.

Tenzō pursed his lips. "Don't start with that again. I've had traumatic experiences with needles, they make me feel uneasy."

"Uneasy doesn't describe your whining and trembling when you were tattooed. You were pathetic."

"You... You just stop that. You know you'll regret making fun of me like that." The brown-haired man crossed his arms and glared at him.

"Heh, well either way I have more respect for this woman than I had for you at that point." Eiichi chortled to himself and shook his head.

Masami giggled. "Oh, you two. You are both part of the same squad, and you argue like little children." She walked over to them and they stood up.

"I'm leaving now. I have to get some work done." Eiichi turned around and walked away.

Masami watched him in confusion. "He is very strange. His mood changes a lot." She and Tenzou walked out of the tattoo parlor.

"It's true. But you'll get used to it quickly." Tenzō sighed. "Shall I escort you home?"

_Escort? I'm ANBU now, do you think I really need and escort...? _

Tenzou smiled at her warmly.

_Oh I see, he's trying to compensate for the dinner situation. _"You may if you'd like." She calmly replied.

He nodded, "Yes I would."

She smiled. _Eiichi-san accuses Tenzō-san of not being a gentleman. And although he seems a little awkward at times, he really is quite the gentleman. Especially in comparison to the aloof Kakashi and frank and almost rude Eiichi. _She chuckled lightly at this thought.

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "What's so funny?"

Masami shook her head. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking." She looked over at him. "You and I are partners now, huh?"

"Yes. Kakashi-sempai and I were partners before. I must say I'd really gotten used to it after a while. It really makes sense how he has it organized now. I believe that our unit will now excel greatly in strength, agility and range." He paused for a moment.

"What do you think about this? Becoming an ANBU and being assigned to Squad _D_?"

"I-I still don't believe Hokage-Sama selected me for this. Actually I'm in denial." She wore a solemn expression. "And I really like Squad _D_ as a whole. I'm feeling optimistic about it, overall."

They continued up a small trail at the edge of the village where many small houses sat. The warm light from the setting sun enhanced the orange fall colors. The constant slight fall breeze continued it's course.

Tenzō looked at Masami. The sun cast its' light through her eyes as she stared ahead, making their deep green color glow brilliantly. The warm sun gleaming on her soft skin reflected her friendliness. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of how much he liked her already. Never had he been drawn to someone the way he was to her. How tranquil she made him feel. It made him want to be around her all the time. She was beautiful too...

She glanced over at him. After a moment she titled her head forward and knitted her brow while still looking at him. "Um, are you okay..? You're staring."

"Oh." He snapped out of his daze and quickly looked ahead. "Eh, sorry. I didn't realize..."

The woman let a silent puff of air escape from her lips as she looked forward again as well. _I certainly hope his battle performance is alright. He seems to be a bit disconcerting at times..._

She stopped at the stone sidewalk that led to one of the quaint little homes, it was surrounded by healthy cherry trees. Tenzou thought they must have looked very beautiful in the spring.

Masami turned and smiled at him. "Thank you for walking me home, Tenzō-san." She bowed. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Masami-san." He watched her turn around and disappear into her home.

* * *

Tenzō walked slowly through the large village. The sun had set over the horizon and the cool night air carried in. The streets were donned with glowing artificial light.

"Oi. Tenzō." Kakashi approached from behind and walked alongside his kohai.

"Kakashi-sempai, good evening." He smiled at him. "What brings you here?"

"Well... I'd like to talk to you about something. It's a bit of a reminder, actually." The gray-haired man cleared his throat, he seemed to be having a difficult time getting to the point.

"You know that shinobi are supposed to eliminate their emotions. That rule was made for our own protection. It's to shield you from the devastation that comes with loss." He sighed gravely. "I had to learn that the hard way.

Bonding with your teammates is vital. But keep in mind: the closer the attachment, the harder it is to cope with loss."

Tenzou looked blankly at Kakashi. "You were following Masami and I, weren't you?"

"Not following. I just happened to be nearby. I noticed the way you were looking at her and could see you have strong feelings for her already. And for two shinobi that means distraction and it will likely end up with a broken heart.."

He nodded. "I understand Kakashi-sempai. I was not thinking like a shinobi, I need to focus. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." He seemed almost ashamed of himself as he looked down at the ground in front of him.

Kakashi saw this and patted him on the back of the shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much. Ultimately, it's your decision. I'm just reminding you of what this could lead to. I'm not disgusted with you or anything. We had a relaxing day off, so we were all thinking less like shinobi. I'm sure I'll be impressed with your performance tomorrow, as usual. Now if you'll excuse me I have to get going again." He gave Tenzō a stiff wave and dashed away.

"Kakashi-sempai..."

* * *

The house was peaceful and quiet as the brunette walked to her bedroom. Only the moon lit the room as she undressed and wrapped a robe around her. She squinted and focused on a pile of items that sat on her bed. She didn't remember putting it there earlier. With curiosity she walked over and picked up the item that sat on top. It was a mask with round holes for eyes and small round ears. She held it in the moonlight that shone through her opened window and observed it.

"A rat..."

Masami bit her lip in puzzlement. She was unsure of how or who selected the ANBU masks for the agents, and even less sure why a rat mask was chosen for her. She looked down at the rest of the items and moved them with her empty hand. It was all ANBU armor and gear. She scowled as she wondered how and when it got into her house.

She shrugged, "Oh well. I need tea." She set the mask down on her bed and exited the bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kakashi appreciated the feeling of the early morning sun as he walked along at a brisk pace. He was on his way to meet his squad for training, and he did not want to be late. That is, until something caught his eye.

The gray-haired man stopped abruptly and stared at the poster. "Icha... Icha... Paradise... Hmm"

He scratched his chin as he read the summary. This book sounded interesting to him. Just what he was looking for to fill in the void that had been nagging at him lately. He rubbed his palms together and entered the bookstore.

* * *

"Kakashi-sempai is late. I don't believe it." Tenzō scratched the back of his head and sat down on a stump. By now the sun had risen to cast hot light on the three shinobi gathered in a grassy park.

Masami looked over at him with concern. "Do you think he's alright..?" She sat cross-legged on a bench made out of stone.

Eiichi glared over at Masami from his position leaning against a tree. "Sure he is." He sighed gruffly, "You women are good for nothing but worrying." He looked back at the ground and scowled. "I'm sure he has a good reason for not showing up yet."

"Oi." Kakashi approached his squad and waved demurely.

Masami stood and stared over at him, wide-eyed. "Is everything alright? We were concerned that you were so late."

"Tch! _We?_" Eiichi crossed his arms and shook his head in shame.

"I apologize, something came up." He seemed very anxious, almost ashamed. "Let's just get started."

He began walking and the three followed. There was a sound of crows cawing as a stiff breeze blew by, scattering a crowd of dried orange leaves past the shinobi's feet. They came to one of Konoha's training grounds, which was more secluded so that no bystanders would be harmed by their practice routines. Also to keep from revealing their techniques publicly. It was a heavily wooded area with several small clearings. The trees showed scars in their bark as apparent battle wounds from others' practice sessions.

Kakashi stopped and turned toward his squad mates. "Our teamwork has declined greatly since Haruki's death. Eiichi and I had not previously worked together. Tenzō and Masami are obviously completely unfamiliar with each others techniques."

His dark uncovered eye scanned them "So we're going to have two separate little face-offs. Kakashi verses Eiichi, Tenzō verses Masami. "

Tenzou fidgeted a little. _Is he really testing my feelings?  
_

Kakashi continued "This is going to be about collecting intelligence. Just the way you would when facing an enemy. Do your best to fight your opponent, figure out what they use for defense. Observe their own attacks, watch their every move. You will use what you learn from our opponent for when you work as partners in the future. Understood?"

The three nodded

"Oh. And don't hold back." Kakashi shot a glance at Tenzō.

Eiichi clenched his fists, he knew the challenge of facing Kakashi would be exciting. He'd witnessed him in battle and knew he had great skill.

Masami gripped her right arm with her left hand and looked over at Tenzō uneasily. _Hope he doesn't kill me with his wood release._

_Don't hold back. Right. I gotta get professional about this._ Tenzō narrowed his eyes._ I should be able to get to her easily since apparently she's better with close range. But if I let her near me I better watch it. Kakashi-sempai described her techniques as fierce._

"Let us begin." Kakashi gave the command. Immediately Eiichi dashed toward him, gathering chakra in his fist. Kakashi ducked swiftly and swiped at his legs with a kick. Just as he stood up straight, Eiichi leaped into the air and directed his fist downward toward the back of Kakashi's neck. Kakashi twirled directed a small puff of chakra from his own hand and caught the punch. Its' power was lessened but it still pushed him back a bit.

Meanwhile, the other two teammates faced one another; each waiting for the other to attack.

_I really don't want to attack a woman like this, despite what Kakashi sempai said._ Tenzō shifted on his feet. _Especially when I don't know what her true strength is; I wouldn't want to harm her by accident._

"ouf!" In an instant he was pounded in the back with great force. He went flying forward and crashed into Masami's body which still stood ahead of him. It instantly shattered to pieces upon impact from Tenzō's body.

Tenzō managed to land on his feet and he spun around quickly to face where that hit came from. A piece of the clone landed on his face and melted from his body heat. _An ice clone. So her chakra natures are wind and water._ He noted as he stared ahead at the woman who stood ahead of him. _But that wasn't just a blow with the fist, she can't be that powerful using her body alone._

"Hmf." He flashed a few hand signs and a square log sprout from the ground in front of Masami. Catching her off guard, it hit her in the stomach, flinging her into the air as it continued to grow and follow her. By puffing out gusts wind through her chakra points in midair, Masami gained her balance and evaded the wood ninjutsu the best she could. She landed on her feet and looked up at the wooden pillar that was driving at her in full force.

"Ha-ah!"

Tenzō watched as the wood sliced in half. The ground shook as the two halves landed at each side of the woman. For her opponent there was no time to lose; she emerged from the rising cloud of dust and charged toward him.

_It seems she has very little to offer for long range, just as I thought. I just have to continue trying to keep her at a distance. _The man caused four small rods to sprout from nearby trees and advance toward her quickly.

Masami smirked and forced air quickly and strongly enough to slice through each one; chopping them into little blocks. _I'm surprised he's learned so much about me already. But he's going to have to try harder than that to keep me at a distance. And I've already spotted an Achilles heel._

The kunoichi dashed even closer to Tenzō and he released wood from his palms, sending it toward her with deadly force. She focused hard on the rounded branch and grabbed it in her hands. It caused her to skid backward on her feet. The end where her hands were began to wither in her grip. The withering quickly grew up the rod, and Masami followed, sliding her hands across it as she walked ahead.

Tenzō knitted his brow as he watched it. "What is..?"

"Augh!" He felt a searing pain as it made contact with his hands. He instantly disconnected the wood from himself and dashed backwards away from Masami. Clouds of water floated around her hands; Tenzō noticed this as he looked up at her. _She must have drained the water from the wood. She also seems to have the ability to draw water from people when she makes contact with them. So she got to me through the wood._

Masami gathered the water to her left hand and brought back a small amount of it in her right hand. She clenched her fist and the water formed itself into an icicle. She whipped it at Tenzō; he stopped it in the nick of time with a wooden block. Masami continued throwing spikes of ice at him until she ran out of water. She smiled when she observed that she had gotten close enough for her more lethal attacks. She took a deep breath and thrust her flattened hand at her opponent in a chopping gesture. A gust of air shot at him at a high speed. Tenzou quickly blocked it with wood and sidestepped. The wind shot the wood, splitting it clean through.

_I can't let that hit me, it slices like a blade. I've got to get some distance between us._ Tenzō scowled and brought a thick log up from the ground between them as Masami continued her wind attacks. She tried to get around it but Tenzō brought another log up.

She sliced at it with both hands, sending a strong and lethal blast at the two logs. The air sliced only part way through the wood. _Interesting, he can even change the density of the wood. Tenzō-san is amazing! I'm beginning to feel like I'm way out of my league with these people. _She sent another strong gust at the logs, this time splitting through them.

By now Tenzō had escaped to a safer distance by riding a long branch from his wood release ninjutsu.

Masami leaped on top of the logs she'd slit through and smiled at him. She knew he had been taking it easy on her, and she was sure he knew she hadn't used every weapon in her arsenal. Even still, both were impressed.

"You are very skilled Tenzō-san!" She shouted blithely, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead.

He grinned back at her, by now he was lightly out of breath. "As are you Masami-san! Actually, you've really surprised me. It will be interesting to see the full extent of your power."

Both of the teammate's attention was directed to their side as a loud thundering crash erupted nearby.

Masami's eyes were dazzled from the light that was emitted from that direction. "What was that..?"

Tenzō smirked. "Kakashi-sempai. Looks like they're at the climax of their battle."

Kakashi stood above Eiichi, who was leaning against a tree that was split and knocked over just above his head. Kakashi looked down at him. "Had I actually been aiming at you, you would be dead."

Eiichi chuckled. "Yeah right, you know I had you earlier..."

"Hmph." Kakashi turned and walked toward the other two.

"How did it go?" He looked around at all of the chopped up pieces of wood that lay in the clearing where the man and woman fought.

Tenzō nodded. "Nicely."

Masami leaped down from her position on the log and the two walked over to Kakashi. Eiichi came up from behind and they all stood in a circle.

"Good." The gray-haired man pulled out a scroll from his pocket. "Because we are leaving immediately for our next mission."

Masami gulped; she felt as though she had swallowed a brick. _So soon!_

Eiichi grinned. "Heh, nice. We haven't been on a mission since Haruki was still with us."

Kakashi let the arm holding the scroll drop to his side. "We're to hunt down Kuma Nori and take him captive."

Tenzō's eyes widened. "Kuma Nori..."

The strong blond man clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Is this for real? Are we really to take that dirt bag into custody? Can he be dead? Or does he have to be alive?"

Kakashi nodded solemnly. "Yes, that is our mission. And he should be alive so that he can be taken back here to Konoha for interrogation."

"Who is Kuma Nori?" Masami questioned.

"He leads a black market kind of deal and has been dabbling in Konoha with his business. He's also a missing Nin, and a very dangerous one at that." Kakashi explained.

Eiichi scowled, then glanced at the ground. "And he's the one who killed our teammate, my friend. Haruki was sent on a solo mission to gather intelligence on Nori's business. He wasn't successful. Instead of hiring workers and bodyguards, Nori works on his own. That's how good this jerk really is."

"And that is why we've been sent as a squad to capture him." Kakashi continued. "It's going to be a challenge because we have no information on him. Whatever intelligence Haruki gathered died with him. We haven't much time to spare, go get geared up and we'll meet back here in an hour. We'll have to hunt him down, so we might be gone for a week or more. Be sure to bring sufficient supplies."

The three nodded and all four dashed off in their separate ways.


End file.
